Quote:
Originally Posted by deniseO30
RD the river is very very nasty for boat bottoms.. you will have slime within 3 days of launch.. with expensive or cheap bottom paint! I've not seen one boat kept in the river that did not get slimed in short order. It's just the way it is in the Delaware River. I see racers using high end paint and they still have to clean the bottom mid season. Most of us don't bother. And power wash it off as soon as the boat comes out for the winter. nasty smelling stuff too the slime is! BTW I've only used WM ablative. i
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Aside from slime, what else grows on the boat bottom in the Delaware? I assume that barnacles do not grow in the fresh water, but is that correct? Some friends have suggested that if there is no barnacle growth, I can probably get away without repainting right away. Obviously I can live with stuff that would merely discolor the old paint, since I'm going to have to sand and paint over it next fall. But barnacles or other growth like that could damage gelcoat.
So bottom line question, if I keep the boat in the Delaware for the first year and completely avoid salt water, am I likely to see any growth that penetrates through to gelcoat and/or can't be sanded off and painted over?